The use of a laser to laser a page of a multiple sheet booklet such as a passport is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,783,067 and can be found in commercial systems such as the PB6500™ passport issuance system available from DataCard Corporation of Minnetonka, Minn.
When lasing a page, it is important that the page be held securely against a backing plate during lasing to ensure the highest quality lasing on the page. When the page is one of a plurality of sheets that are bound along a spine to form a booklet, the area of the page as it nears the spine tends to deflect outwardly when the booklet is opened, and that area can be difficult to retain against the backing plate for proper lasing.
In the case of passports, complicating processing on the booklet, as well as holding the page securely against the backing plate, is that the construction of passports can vary from country to country. These differences include variations in the number of sheets, variations in the dimensions of the booklets such as, for example, variations in the sizes of the outer covers, as well as differences in the materials used to construct the passports which can impact mechanical handling of the passports.